Bean had previously played Richard Sharpe in the well known British TV series Sharpe, based on Bernard Cornwell's novels about the Napoleonic Wars. Boromir's comment about the shards of Narsil in The Fellowship of the Ring ("Still sharp!") is a nod to that role.

"Being human, he's more susceptible to the power of the Ring and is constantly having to the fight against it. He knows that it's got a strong draw on him, and throughout the journey, that keys preying on his mind."

"Lord of the Rings was just so much enjoyment. It was over about the space of a year that I was filming. It's one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done...so emotional."

― Sean Bean, compleatseanbean.com

"I'm proud of Lord of the Rings, and I want to be there to tell people to go and see it, and get behind it. I think it's a once in a lifetime role, and a once in a lifetime film."

― Sean Bean, compleatseanbean.com

"I wasn't very keen on flying, so me and Orlando Bloom were driving from Wellington to Queensland. And there was a massive storm with mudslides so we got stuck and had to sort of shack up in this log cabin for a couple of days. It was quite pleasant actually, but the ironic thing is that the only way they could get us out was by helicopter. So after doing all that, I ended up in one. It was just terrible because it was swaying and just hearing the rotor blades go around makes me think, 'Oh shit.' Orlando was sitting next to me, and he was fine, but I was gripping his kneecap."